Over 200,000 Green Cards Wasted in 2021 as Backlog Explodes

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed processing and completion of data including employment and family-based petitions, neutralization, and green card applications for the year 2021. The set of data comprises new statistics for the last quarter of 2021.

According to one report released recently, the agency is said to have a total backlog of 2.5 million cases by the end of FY2019. But another report shows that the net backlog is close to 5.7 million cases.

2021 saw the backlog for USCIS grow to unprecedented levels. Luckily, 69 percent of all the immigration applications submitted in 2021 were approved. Approximately 800,000 other applications were rejected.

Despite the fact that USCIS was able to process close to 80 percent of all the cases presented, the backlog grew by nearly eight million at the end of the 2021 financial year. If you are applying for any document and need it urgently, the best thing to do is to hire an experienced immigration lawyer.

The agency saw an increase of more than 18 percent in 2021. The overall approval rate dropped from 85 percent to 69 percent toward the end.

Employment authorization

The backlog of applications for EAD (Employment Authorization Documents) drastically rose in 2021. USCIS received 2.961 million EAD applications in 2021 compared to 1.7 million applications it received the previous year. This is a reflection of previous surges in EAD applications experienced in the year 2020.

If you made an EAD application and have remained pending for a long time, then the best option is to contact an employment immigration lawyer. Immigration lawyers understand how USCIS works and they can maneuver their way around and speed up the approval process.

With the recent statistics showing an increased number of applications, it will require the help of a qualified and experienced lawyer to get things done fast.